Trans won't go in to gear

Just one day, the boat decided it didn't want to go in to gear. Is there another thread I haven't found that would give me steps to take to see what might be wrong? My father and I are fairly handy, and would like to solve this problem ourselves before taking it to someone. Just not sure where to start looking for information on this transmission.

My boat is a 1992 PCM Ski Nautique with the Warner transmission.

Any help or pointing in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

those are the same 2 questions i had

Hah, I woke up a 7:45 today. no luck last night, just a damn good nights sleep

Bob,
I'd say it's time to pull the trans. The first thing you want to look at is the dampner plate. It's the spring loaded coupling to the trans on the flywheel. If you're lucky, maybe it blew. If not, I'd be sending the trans off to Eric for a rebuild. If it's not the dampner, do, put a new one in anyway.

Not to thread hijack...but seeing as I'm looking into my own inboard here soon, what is it that makes these transmissions fail? Are there common/expected parts that fail at a certain age point/hours?

Is it hard use? A lot of in and out of gear? Etc?

Is one brand better than another (Velvet drive VS Warner) etc?

Again, I don't want to thread hijack or start another new thread.

really, The Borg Warner is at the lower end of the spectrum for its ratings in a ski boat, they are same transmissionis used in 30ft boats spinning much bigger props..a ski boat will see more shifts compared to a larger cruiser
I really would have to say under normal maintanance and alignment checks the average life span of these transmissions would be around the 25 year mark

eric lavine wrote: really, The Borg Warner is at the lower end of the spectrum for its ratings in a ski boat, they are same transmissionis used in 30ft boats spinning much bigger props..a ski boat will see more shifts compared to a larger cruiser I really would have to say under normal maintanance and alignment checks the average life span of these transmissions would be around the 25 year mark

You sound like the tranny man..................................ok...that may have come out wrong.

Great info though...is it normal for them to just 'let go' like the OP experienced...or is there something that should be looked for on a test drive other than smoothness?

bubela wrote: So pull the trans and check out the dampner plate. If that looks good, then send it to Eric, ahy? Just a little more info on the trans: It has just over 600 hours on it. Didn't have any symptoms before letting go, just one day didn't go in to Forward or Reverse. What cost am I looking at to have Eric rebuilt/fix it? Would you advise I upgrade to a stronger trans? If so, what is the cost of That? Is there a thread on here to removing the trans? It doesn't look daunting, but wouldn't mind having a step by step guide if one were available.

Bob,
Pulling the trans isn't that bad of a project. Most is self explanatory once you look at it.

Disconnect the prop shaft coupling.

Unbolt the rear engine mounts.

Loosen the front engine mount pinch bolts.

Remove the shift cable.

Disconnect the NSS (neutral safety switch) wires.

Loosen the hose clamps on the exhaust hose.

Use two small hydraulic bottle jacks under the aft end of the exhaust manifolds and jack raising the rear of the engine.

Unbolt the bell housing.

I may have missed something but I'm sure others may fill in the gaps if I did.

Strange tranny for a 92..it should come with a PCM power plus transmission, with a 1.123 reduction gear..unless it was replaced at some point.
What prop are you turning? LH or RH?

lets see your ride!!!

eric lavine wrote: Pete, Bob here needs a link to the alignment video

Link to alignment video

Here it is. Great stuff! Thanks, Pete!

Awesome, thanks guys. I had actually found it earlier this morning with the help of google.

Trans is out. Ordered a rebuilt unit from Eric and will install it next week/weekend. Also ordered the new damper plate from discount marine. Once it's all back together, it will hopefully drive like new again!

One other pesky thing that's bothering us is start up. There seems to be an electrical draw that will sporadically not send full voltage to the starter. Gota be a loose/corroded wire somewhere we think.. but haven't found it yet.

I'll have to look for some pictures of this boat. We've had it since 1993. Hope to have it another 20 years!

We're using a standard battery, not a marine deep cycle. We've had this (low voltage) start problem for a couple years now. Battery was new in '07.

Here's a picture of the boat! I've since removed the bell and damper plate. Throwing a new plate in while the trans is out as well.

Success!